Original: Was ever woman in this humour woo’d?
Modern: Has any woman ever been courted while in such a mood?

Original: Was ever woman in this humour won?
Modern: Has any woman ever been won over while feeling this way?

Original: I’ll have her; but I will not keep her long.
Modern: I’ll marry her, but I won’t keep her alive for long.

Original: What! I, that kill’d her husband and his father,
Modern: What! Me - the one who killed her husband and her father-in-law,

Original: To take her in her heart’s extremest hate,
Modern: To win her when she hates me with all her heart,

Original: With curses in her mouth, tears in her eyes,
Modern: With her cursing me and crying,

Original: The bleeding witness of her hatred by;
Modern: With the bloody proof of her hatred right there;

Original: Having God, her conscience, and these bars against me,
Modern: Having God, her moral sense, and these obstacles working against me,

Original: And I nothing to back my suit at all,
Modern: And I having nothing at all to support my marriage proposal,

Original: But the plain devil and dissembling looks,
Modern: Except pure evil and my deceptive appearance,

Original: And yet to win her, all the world to nothing!
Modern: And yet I won her - against all odds!

Original: Ha!
Modern: Ha!

Original: Hath she forgot already that brave prince,
Modern: Has she already forgotten that noble prince,

Original: Edward, her lord, whom I, some three months since,
Modern: Edward, her husband, whom I, just three months ago,

Original: Stabb’d in my angry mood at Tewksbury?
Modern: Stabbed to death in my rage at the Battle of Tewksbury?

Original: A sweeter and a lovelier gentleman,
Modern: A kinder and more handsome gentleman,

Original: Framed in the prodigality of nature,
Modern: Created with nature’s most generous gifts,

Original: Young, valiant, wise, and, no doubt, right royal,
Modern: Young, brave, wise, and certainly truly royal,

Original: The spacious world cannot again afford
Modern: The whole wide world cannot produce another like him.

Original: And will she yet debase her eyes on me,
Modern: And will she still lower herself to look at me,

Original: That cropp’d the golden prime of this sweet prince,
Modern: Who cut down this sweet prince in his golden youth,

Original: And made her widow to a woful bed?
Modern: And made her a widow with a bed full of sorrow?

Original: On me, whose all not equals Edward’s moiety?
Modern: At me, when everything I have isn’t worth half of what Edward had?

Original: On me, that halt and am unshapen thus?
Modern: At me, who limps and is so deformed?

Original: My dukedom to a beggarly denier,
Modern: I’d bet my dukedom against a worthless coin,

Original: I do mistake my person all this while:
Modern: I’ve been wrong about myself all this time:

Original: Upon my life, she finds, although I cannot,
Modern: I swear, she sees in me, though I cannot see it myself,

Original: Myself to be a marvellous proper man.
Modern: That I’m actually a remarkably handsome man.

Original: I’ll be at charges for a looking-glass,
Modern: I’ll pay for a mirror,

Original: And entertain some score or two of tailors,
Modern: And hire twenty or forty tailors,

Original: To study fashions to adorn my body:
Modern: To learn the latest styles to make my body look good:

Original: Since I am crept in favour with myself,
Modern: Since I’ve grown fond of myself,

Original: Will maintain it with some little cost.
Modern: I’ll keep up this self-love with a small investment.

Original: But first I’ll turn yon fellow in his grave;
Modern: But first I’ll go bury that dead man;

Original: And then return lamenting to my love.
Modern: And then return, pretending to grieve, to my love.

Original: Shine out, fair sun, till I have bought a glass,
Modern: Keep shining, bright sun, until I can buy a mirror,

Original: That I may see my shadow as I pass.
Modern: So I can admire my reflection as I walk by.

In Act I, Scene 2 of Richard III, Lady Anne encounters the funeral procession of King Henry VI, her father-in-law, as his body is being transported for burial. She mourns the dead king and curses Richard, Duke of Gloucester, whom she holds responsible for Henry’s death as well as the murder of her husband, Edward, Prince of Wales. Richard himself then appears and boldly interrupts the funeral procession, dismissing the bearers and engaging Lady Anne in direct conversation despite her obvious hatred and grief.

What follows is an extended exchange in which Richard employs a combination of flattery, manipulation, and audacious courtship to win over the grieving widow. Despite Lady Anne’s initial curses and accusations, Richard gradually wears down her resistance through persistent wooing and claims of remorse. By the end of their encounter, the seemingly impossible has occurred: Lady Anne accepts Richard’s ring and agrees to meet him later, effectively consenting to his proposal of marriage. The scene concludes with Richard’s satisfaction at his successful manipulation, having transformed a grieving enemy into a willing bride through his persuasive rhetoric and psychological manipulation.

Richard III opens with Richard, Duke of Gloucester, revealing his villainous intentions to claim the throne of England. Despite his physical deformities, he is determined to remove all obstacles to his coronation. He begins by manipulating his brother Clarence into imprisonment and death, convincing King Edward IV that Clarence poses a threat. Richard also courts Lady Anne, widow of Prince Edward (whom Richard killed), successfully wooing her despite having murdered both her husband and father-in-law. When King Edward IV dies, Richard is named Lord Protector for the young Prince Edward, heir to the throne.

Richard systematically eliminates his rivals and supporters of the rightful heirs. He has Lord Hastings executed for opposing his claim to the throne, and convinces the Duke of Buckingham to help him secure power. Richard and Buckingham spread rumors about the legitimacy of Edward IV’s children, claiming they are bastards. They stage a public scene where Richard reluctantly accepts the crown after appearing to refuse it. Once crowned King Richard III, he orders the murder of the two young princes (Edward V and his brother Richard, Duke of York) in the Tower of London, though their deaths occur offstage.

Richard’s reign becomes increasingly tyrannical and unstable. The Duke of Buckingham eventually rebels against him and is captured and executed. Richard attempts to consolidate power by proposing to marry Elizabeth of York, his niece, but faces growing opposition. Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, lands in England with an army to claim the throne. The play culminates in the Battle of Bosworth Field, where Richard is haunted by the ghosts of all those he has murdered. Richmond defeats and kills Richard in battle, then marries Elizabeth of York to unite the warring houses of Lancaster and York, establishing the Tudor dynasty and bringing peace to England.